North Meols is a
civil parish
In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...
and
electoral ward in the
West Lancashire
West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,68 ...
district of
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
, England. The parish covers the village of
Banks
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Becaus ...
and the hamlet of
Hundred End. The population of the parish/ward at the
2011 census was 4,146. Historically the parish covered a wider area including much of what is now
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
.
Ancient parish
The civil parish is based on an ancient parish located to the north and east of the town of Southport, which straddled what is now the border between the counties of
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
and
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...
. North Meols included
Crossens
Crossens is the northernmost district of the town of Southport, Merseyside, England.
Historically part of the ancient parish of North Meols and entirely in Lancashire, most of Crossens was transferred to Merseyside on 1 April 1974, when local ...
,
Marshside and
Churchtown in the north of
Southport
Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England.
Southport lies on the Iris ...
, and then extended east towards
Preston to encompass the rural villages of
Banks
A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets.
Becaus ...
,
Far Banks and
Hundred End,
Mere Brow
Mere Brow is a small village in Lancashire, England, situated between Tarleton and Banks, just off the A565 road. It is 6 miles (9 km) east of Southport and 10 miles (15 km) south west of Preston. It is administered by the West Lancash ...
and
Holmes
Holmes may refer to:
Name
* Holmes (surname)
* Holmes (given name)
* Baron Holmes, noble title created twice in the Peerage of Ireland
* Chris Holmes, Baron Holmes of Richmond (born 1971), British former swimmer and life peer
Places
In the Uni ...
in
West Lancashire
West Lancashire is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. The council is based in Ormskirk, and the largest town in the borough is Skelmersdale. At the 2011 Census, the population of the borough was 110,68 ...
. It was bounded to the south by the
Martin Mere
Martin Mere is a mere near Burscough, in Lancashire, England, on the West Lancashire Coastal Plain. The mere is a vast marsh, around that was, until it was drained, the largest body of fresh water in England.
History
Martin Mere was formed ...
wetland.
History
Dating from before the
Norman conquest
The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...
, this area of small farming and fishing villages was originally known as Otegrimeles, from the Norse word "melr", meaning sand-dunes. The present pronunciation "mee-als" stems from Old Norse influences on the local dialect. This is also found in other dialects with strong Norse connections, especially the dialect of Shetland. Compare, however with
Meols
Meols (sometimes known as Great Meols) is a village on the northern coast of the Wirral Peninsula, England. It is contiguous with the town of Hoylake immediately to the west. Historically in Cheshire, since 1 April 1974 it has been part of th ...
pronounced as "mells", on the nearby
Wirral.
Historically, North Meols has been centred on St. Cuthbert's Church in Churchtown, although there were vicarages in Crossens, Banks and Birkdale. Parts of the parish were almost completely surrounded by water until large scale drainage of Martin Mere and other marshland in the 19th century. This left behind a legacy of fine agricultural soil, which is still exploited to this day – the primary industry in the area is farming, especially of flowers and vegetables.
To this day, the northern part of the district retains a lot of its rural character, with the only large-scale development being the construction of a large number of new homes in Banks. The southern districts, although now fully incorporated into Southport have also not been fully urbanised; Churchtown retains its attractive centre and extensive botanic gardens, and the marshes to the west of Crossens and Marshside have been preserved for their wildlife.
Transport
North Meols was previously home to the
West Lancashire Railway
The West Lancashire Railway (WLR) ran northeast from Southport to Preston in northwest England.
History
Construction was started by Samuel Swire the Mayor of Southport, on 19 April 1873. It opened on 15 September 1882.
A branch was constructe ...
, fully opened in 1878, which ran between Southport and Preston. Low passenger numbers later led to its decline and its closure was assured by the
Beeching Axe in 1964.
The main transport link through the area is now the
A565 road
The A565 is a road in England that is around long and runs from Liverpool in Merseyside to Tarleton in Lancashire. It is a primary route linking the town of Southport to Liverpool and to Preston (latterly via the connecting A59), having bee ...
Southport New Road, which runs from Southport north-east to
Preston.
Community
North Meols is administered for public services by both Sefton Borough Council and West Lancashire District Council. For more local matters, there is also the North Southport Area Committee and the North Meols Parish Council.
The main community centre for the district is the Banks Leisure Centre, located just off Southport New Road in Banks.
Listed buildings
![War Memorial, The Parish Church of St Stephen in the Banks - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/War_Memorial%2C_The_Parish_Church_of_St_Stephen_in_the_Banks_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1359584.jpg)
There was one
listed buildings
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
in the parish,
Greaves Hall. This was built in 1900 as a
country house, and was used later as a hospital. It was in
Tudor Revival
Tudor Revival architecture (also known as mock Tudor in the UK) first manifested itself in domestic architecture in the United Kingdom in the latter half of the 19th century. Based on revival of aspects that were perceived as Tudor architecture ...
style, and was a
timber-framed
Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large woode ...
building with
rendered infill
In urban planning, infill, or in-fill, is the rededication of land in an urban environment, usually open-space, to new construction. Infill also applies, within an urban polity, to construction on any undeveloped land that is not on the urban ma ...
on a brick
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
. It had tiled roofs and many
gable
A gable is the generally triangular portion of a wall between the edges of intersecting roof pitches. The shape of the gable and how it is detailed depends on the structural system used, which reflects climate, material availability, and aesth ...
s. The building was listed at Grade II, the lowest of the three grades of listing, which is applied to buildings that are "of special interest, warranting every effort to preserve them". However the condition of the building deteriorated and because it was considered to be dangerous, it was demolished in 2009.
In October 2016 Banks War Memorial was listed at Grade II. The memorial stands in the churchyard of St Stephen in the Banks, it is
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
, and consists of a Latin cross with a square shaft, standing on a three-stepped inscribed
plinth
A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
.
References
External links
* http://www.northmeols.com/index.html
* http://www.northmeols.merseyside.org/index.htm
* http://www.lan-opc.org.uk/North-Meols/
* http://mario.lancashire.gov.uk/lccbasemap/?tools=yes&box=335294:416754:342453:422878
* http://www.westlancsdc.gov.uk/Leisure/index.cfm?ccs=273
{{Geography of West Lancashire
Geography of the Borough of West Lancashire
Civil parishes in Lancashire